Thursday, August 25, 2011

KO Miscellaneous Kabaya KitsVery happy that finally can get a Universe (2003) Optimus Prime kit... Not very happy that the Spy Changer Mirage is packed with 1 piece of the Universe OP instead... sigh... Anyway... cost approx $3.45 for the 6 packs, so if even is $3.45 for just 1 Universe (2003) Optimus Prime kit is still worth it... for me...

KO Green Classics Mirage... aka Acid Disruptor... Hahaha.... gotten this to replace my "hipless" old KO yellow version... Have not opened up, so not sure how is the quality... Cost is approx $3.40...

Edit: Joints, except waist, are quite tight!!!! Amazing... Plastic is a bit brittle though, but seriously who in the right mind expects superb quality plastics from a cheapo KO?? This Mirage on this packing comes in red and blue... Highly recommended...

KO Oversize DOTM Legends CrankcaseUpsized to about Scout class... Again, not opened up yet... Cost is approx $2.70...

Edit: A bit disappointing, feet is slightly simplified, ball joints at arms keep popping out, some loose joints and no small little hands at the arms... But the "middle finger" (aka Deadpool's sword blade from X-Men Origin movie, hahaha...) still remains...

KO Oversize DOTM Legends TopspinUpsized to about Scout class... Again, not opened up yet... Cost is approx $2.70...

Edit: This is an amazing piece... When I lift it out from his plastic bubble tomb, he remain rigid like a statue... I mean, no signs of limbs of parts moving slightly... wow... Joints are indeed tight... and partly probably due the simplicity of the design... wow...simple...

KO Oversize Crossover Spiderman (Racing Car)Wow!!!! Did not expect this to be an oversized piece, thought is original (roughly) voyager sized... Man, it is huge, around 23 cm... and it is BLUE!!!!!! Blue Venom!!!! Or Aqua Spidey!!! Hahaha.... Not open up, so not sure of the quality... Cost is approx $15.55.

Edit: Plastic is of near shampoo bottle quality... near, but not quite like it... Some joints are tight... and the leg joints, by virtue of the KO-ers missing out the ratcheting part, actually allow the legs to be a slightly wide and more natural position when standing, compared to the original one (that I saw some reviewers mention in Youtube)... Need to tighten the joints on the legs though... Not sure if the original transformation intend to let the hip-piece to be connected to the two long headlight pieces or not, because by doing so, the arms are easier to be posed using the shoulder joints only...

Bootleg DOTM Voyager Fireburst Optimus PrimeWow, except for a few loose joints at legs, and an axe that needs to recalibrate the gears, all is fine with this bootleg!!!! Had fun and frustration transforming him just now... Cost is approx $28.50.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Went to Bedok Central for brunch... and after that, jalan jalan... bought a KO Beast Machines Striker, a KO Ironman mask, a KO Batman mask, & a Ultraman lantern (which I did not take pictures) for my nephew...

KO Beast Machines StrikerThis is the same series as the Lio Convoy which I bought earlier... De-tombed it and fiddled with it for a while...Had a hard time transforming to the dinosaur mode... Here's a quick review about the pros & cons of the KO quality (not the toy review):

ProsMost joints are tight, as usual. Only exception will be the small pin-tabs at the shoulder -arms joints & dino's 1/2-body-to-body joints, might need to tighten / loosen... The colour scheme is approx 80% to that of the original's, save a few places (inner of legs, etc...)... The simplifications done do not hinder the transformation between the 2 modes basically...

ConsPlastic is light (as usual too), so please handle with more caution. The simplified parts consists of the head no able to turn, so shows the head in dinosaur mode if you look from below (see picture below)... The spine blades are now molded to the dino's body (halves), no dino skull, but no big deal... Now the major ones I don't quite like are the fists are molded in the arms, making the arms short!!! The elbows are replaced by ball joints, but due to the re-design to show the "fists", the dinosaur cannot pose the front legs correctly... The tail is now a single piece without the "open-the-flower" gimmick, but think it can be better re-designed like that of the KO Lio Junior's tail-rifle...

Overall, still worth the $6.90 paid... in fact, worth more than the $6.90 (though might need to do a little more restoration than the KO Lio Junior...)...

KO Ironman / Batman MasksWell... They should be classified as KOs, right?? Anyway, at only $1.50 per piece, I bought these 2 and washed them with anti-bacterial soap, now still drying... some plastic burrs around the edges, but can be easily removed with a penknife... The Ironman mask looks hilarious with the "nose", hahaha.... Oh, the packaging is the usual cheapo "T~O~Y~S" plastic bag...

Saturday, August 13, 2011

This time restored the "cheap as hell" KO Masterpiece Prime! Hahaha... Opps, not really in the "cheap as hell" category, because still cost me approximately $62... hmmm... ok, for that price, I don't expect 100% quality like the original one...

I believe there are a lot of reviews (here is a good one ...) for this KO Masterpiece OP, so won't go into 1 (well, I also don't recall having done a decent review before, hahaha...)

Just some nagging... I remember there is an earlier version which more silver-chrome including the faceplate. The one I have here is the later version, with silver faceplate... I did change the smokestacks to longer ones, and tried to use the magnets to strengthen the waist joint, but not very good result... Oh, the auto-open air vents on his shins do work (when you press OP down on his feet)... But the ratcheting joint for his right leg was too tight, I had to repair the broken ratcheting ring and use a softer spring... a bit loose, but better than to keep repairing...

Vehicle mode... Gaps are evident, the most obvious being the front cabin (robot chest) cannot close properly...

Robot mode... painted the rifle with black metallic paint-pen.... not very good, due to the unevenness of paint effect of paint pen over large areas..

Surprisingly, this fella is quite posable... I thought it will be very unstable, but then realised it is still ok.... not that unstable...

Lastly, to clarify :
(1) I am a "he"...
(2) I used to go "out of the way to find and collect KO(s)" in the past, when I am absolutely crazy with KOs, but too lazy now to do (hahaha...)...
(3) I preface (title) "Side-tracked" in my posts whenever I buy ANY TFs (or such), NOT only when I bought "official/genuine" pieces... and finally...
(4) Yes, I am (and/or this blog is) meant to be hilarious and funny, and fun!!!!!! I am hilarious, so are you 1 (you know who, =) ) Hahahahaha 2 !!!!.... I like KOs (of TFs) , enjoy yours too!!!! ... Hahaha!!!!

1 - reference title by a S'pore guy who has this program/course called "I Am Gifted, So Are You"... Is it (the program) "hilarious"?? You decide... hahahaha....

2 - sorry, got into this crazy mode after seeing the post in the forum which you wrote, couldn't help laughing out loud... it's coming back... hahahaha....

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Restored my KO City Commander and KO Classics UM recently... Again, used the polystyrene piece to tighten the shoulder and arm armour pieces, works like a charm... Gotten a green translucent sword for him too, to match up with his nemesis!!!

Removed the ugly red Decepticon (with mouth) insignia on his shoulders, tightened some joints, and some slight paint on his mouth-mask...

For the KO City Commander's shoulder and armour pieces, I super-glued a piece of polystyrene on each of the inner surfaces to reduce the space, making a tight fit when sliding in the shoulders and arms. Once again, thanks to the person who suggested this, sorry I'm not able to google out who you are. Works like a charm! BTW, I just realised that it might be that the KO Classics Primes are very very very slightly smaller than the real deal. I remember some people mentioned the KO City Commander fits slightly better on the real Classics Primes, compared to fitting onto KO Classics Primes... Doesn't matter...

The trailer fits well with the KO UM. Looks good... (yes, the sword is able to be stored inside the trailer like the Shadow's...)

Ultra Magnus!!!!! As the set came with a sword holder too, I use it to clip on to the new sword (gotten long time ago)... sweet...

Maximum firepower!!!! (Yeap, configure the BFG to the artillery cannon...)

John Woo style.... hahaha...

Took some time to shave off the sword's handle to fit into the fist-hole... Looks great!!!! City Commander's sword is slightly shorter than Shadow's, though doesn't really matter...